Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas is prepared to take a financial hit in order to force through his dream move to Barcelona. The thrifty European champions have asked wee Cesc to give up over £4m in bonuses for the honour of warming the Nou Camp substitute's bench next season. Gunners' boss Arsene Wenger has already identified Fabregas's replacement and will complete the signing of teen sensation Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in a £12m deal this week. The Frenchman remains intererested in Blackburn's Chris Samba and Bolton defender Gary Cahill, but only if their respective clubs lower the valuations of each player.

But Inter technical director Marco Branca isn't so sure: "You keep asking me about Sneijder's future, but in all honesty I don't know what to say," he told reporters on Saturday. Right now there have been no talks and there are no negotiations between the clubs. We haven't even received any calls from Manchester.

"Sneijder is one of the best players in the world for his position, so it's normal that the top European clubs would be interested. It's natural that someone will try to get the best on the transfer market."